Current millimeter wave capable connectors are typically very expensive due to the precision required in their construction. While a high price may be acceptable for low volume test and measurement application, systems that operate into such frequencies can require hundreds to many thousands of these connectors and their costs can become a problem. By way of example, creating phased arrays and/or other electronic warfare (EW) systems that can span into the upper EHF range may require practical, cost-effective interconnect solutions. High effective radiated power (ERP) EW, radar, or communications Ka band phased arrays may address the problem of pitch mismatch between the power electronics and the antenna array pitch using connector and cable dilations to increase the pitch to one acceptable for the power electronics. While expensive demonstrators may be shown without breakable interconnect, both high yield manufacturing, re-use, and practical deployment over a service lifetime may be expected to require modularity provided by make/break interconnect. As such, it may be desirable to build systems from standardized modules or sub-assemblies and allow for modular construction and/or field service, such as the separation of antenna sections from dilation layers from power T or T/R (transmit or transmit/receive) modules. Increasing the modularity in a high end microwave system can be an important step in allowing such systems to reduce in cost and thereby increase the quantity used. To this end, some systems may contain hundreds to thousands of blind-mate floating connectors, for example, to accomplish just a change in pitch between antennas and electronics (dilations). Volume cost of a 100-GHz-capable subminiature push-on connector series (SMPS) connector (G3PO-like) is currently greater than $35 for a bullet and two male shrouds. Add a phased controlled cable, and there may be well over $200 per element often spent for the assembly for each coaxial channel. This can amount to more than ˜$100,000 per 20×20 array in the dilation and its interconnect.
The problem may become worse at higher frequencies where connector costs may increase and/or can no longer fit on a half-wavelength element-to-element pitch. Interconnection at an element pitch at W band would require ˜1.5 mm OD on the connector—about 5× smaller in linear dimension than SMPS/G3PO connectors. Making the connections permanent is an approach to address this problem. However, this precludes ease of service and/or may make production yield substantially unobtainable. Another problem in interconnect for EW, radar, or communications may be power handling. A G3PO may be rated at ˜18W at 50 GHz. Voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) and/or voltage breakdown may not account for this limit. In addition, floating connector systems may utilize Be:Cu for the core metal and polymer for the dielectric. At increasing frequency, skin effect loss mechanisms may produce heating of the center pin metals which may have poor thermal transfer. Due to misalignment loading, a Teflon® dielectric (PTFE) may be prone to creep at increasing temperatures.
Thus, a need exists to address interconnect and/or connectors themselves spanning DC to 110 GHz or greater as a development problem to be addressed in terms of cost, size, and the like. Related machining, e.g., turning, operations may be incapable of providing cost effective precision with micron level accuracy for mm-scale devices.